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Settling into Sicilian life

The day starts off with the pane senor (bread man) arriving at about 9am. Tooting as he drives in, he always greets me with buongiorno. Usually two chocolate croissants and 4 bread rolls , soft (morbido). I still havent got my numbers sorted, so I usually hand over €4. We go through the same ritual, him handing me the bread in brown paper bag. Me saying…Grazie mille(thank you very much), prego (you’re welcome) his reply, Arriverderci, (goodbye) Arriverderci. Before 9am you get a fantastic view of Mt Etna before the cloud rolls in an obscures its view. The sosta here quiet with three of us here until yesterday and then about 10 more arrived. All Italians, it seems like a family affair. This morning the older couples sitting out with their chairs chatting and waiting for the bread guy. Paolo and his wife left on holiday yesterday. Leaving his friend Giovanni in charge. Paolos wife Grisela (I hope that’s right) is a character and had us in a game of figure out what she’s saying before she left. Something about the part for our air suspension, that she needs the part to show them. Then telling us that market day is on sabato (saturday) till about 1pm in the town. In her animated personality she starts the hand gestures of food and clothes. Both her and Paolo are a lovely couple, and are so as we have been told, Sicilians are lovely. They have a casa (house) in Catania and I was also gesturing that we had seen on the internet the massive hail storm and floods the day before in their home city. I asked if her casa was alright, to which she laughed and said ok. Turning to her friend she starts describing in Italian the hail storm. We walked to the market yesterday, full of everything you could need, clothing, electrics, fabrics. It lines a back road into the town and you end up coming out down by the supermarket. The local supermarket is somewhere I spend a bit of time, the produce is amazing and ive just spent €15 on a lamb joint, 10 chicken drumsticks, hamburger patties, and 10 pork slices. Enough to see us through the week. We are addicted to the easy peel Sicilian oranges, the fresh cheeses, pancetta and local olives. I’m dying to buy an Italian cafetière, that you put on the stove top. Instant coffee is almost sacrilege here, its hard to come by. As you leave the supermarket, the fresh fruit and veg guys park their 3 wheeled vehicles outside. The string hanging from the sides, to tie purchases up. Old fashioned weighing scales sit atop of the cab. Fresh produce laid out in wooden crates for all to see. Its amazing what a weekend will bring. Up until yesterday the local rubbish bins were not full, now its like something out of horror film. No longer able to see the bins for the rubbish, stacked so high around it. Recycling gone completely out the window. Thank goodness the sosta has separated waste including organic. Cats and kittens everywhere, its like Georges worse nightmare. Boy does he like to bark at them all. The scenery here is a mix of rolling volcanic hills, a castle is in the distance, cactus,olive groves, and orchards mix in with the infrastructure. This is definitely a tourist town and in summer you can see that the beaches would be packed. We have walked down many side streets and ended up on different parts of the beach. Today we came out further down by the water park, the waves smashing on the shore. It was a complete contrast to previous visits, the waves some 6 feet rolling in, one after another. The dogs keen for a swim, but not venturing in to far. People out taking photos. We joked that the older couples taking their selfies may have to run as some waves engulfed the shore. Tomorrow we are going to head off to one of the coastal towns or up to the castle 5km away. Whilst the weather is warm and sunny. We are staying put here for another week in Giardini Naxos ( the town of first greek settlement on Sicily). A great way to save money, not having to put fuel in and a bargain at €10 a night.

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Published by Wanderlust Craddocks

Welcome to our European adventure. We are Sarah & Jason Craddock, two crazy kiwis who in 2017 are embarking on an adventure through Europe with our two collies |Zoey & George. Travelling in our 1998 Hymer motorhome we will be stopping and visiting wherever takes our fancy. We have a love of off the beaten track places, are passionate about food, yoga & the outdoors. Between us we have been to 5/7 continents and over 30 countries...... so watch this space as we visit a few more
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